
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-398 Section 1[1064(b)]]
[CITE: 44USC3507]

 
                 TITLE 44--PUBLIC PRINTING AND DOCUMENTS
 
         CHAPTER 35--COORDINATION OF FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY
 
Sec. 3507. Public information collection activities; submission 
        to Director; approval and delegation
        
    (a) An agency shall not conduct or sponsor the collection of 
information unless in advance of the adoption or revision of the 
collection of information--
        (1) the agency has--
            (A) conducted the review established under section 
        3506(c)(1);
            (B) evaluated the public comments received under section 
        3506(c)(2);
            (C) submitted to the Director the certification required 
        under section 3506(c)(3), the proposed collection of 
        information, copies of pertinent statutory authority, 
        regulations, and other related materials as the Director may 
        specify; and
            (D) published a notice in the Federal Register--
                (i) stating that the agency has made such submission; 
            and
                (ii) setting forth--
                    (I) a title for the collection of information;
                    (II) a summary of the collection of information;
                    (III) a brief description of the need for the 
                information and the proposed use of the information;
                    (IV) a description of the likely respondents and 
                proposed frequency of response to the collection of 
                information;
                    (V) an estimate of the burden that shall result from 
                the collection of information; and
                    (VI) notice that comments may be submitted to the 
                agency and Director;

        (2) the Director has approved the proposed collection of 
    information or approval has been inferred, under the provisions of 
    this section; and
        (3) the agency has obtained from the Director a control number 
    to be displayed upon the collection of information.

    (b) The Director shall provide at least 30 days for public comment 
prior to making a decision under subsection (c), (d), or (h), except as 
provided under subsection (j).
    (c)(1) For any proposed collection of information not contained in a 
proposed rule, the Director shall notify the agency involved of the 
decision to approve or disapprove the proposed collection of 
information.
    (2) The Director shall provide the notification under paragraph (1), 
within 60 days after receipt or publication of the notice under 
subsection (a)(1)(D), whichever is later.
    (3) If the Director does not notify the agency of a denial or 
approval within the 60-day period described under paragraph (2)--
        (A) the approval may be inferred;
        (B) a control number shall be assigned without further delay; 
    and
        (C) the agency may collect the information for not more than 1 
    year.

    (d)(1) For any proposed collection of information contained in a 
proposed rule--
        (A) as soon as practicable, but no later than the date of 
    publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal 
    Register, each agency shall forward to the Director a copy of any 
    proposed rule which contains a collection of information and any 
    information requested by the Director necessary to make the 
    determination required under this subsection; and
        (B) within 60 days after the notice of proposed rulemaking is 
    published in the Federal Register, the Director may file public 
    comments pursuant to the standards set forth in section 3508 on the 
    collection of information contained in the proposed rule;

    (2) When a final rule is published in the Federal Register, the 
agency shall explain--
        (A) how any collection of information contained in the final 
    rule responds to the comments, if any, filed by the Director or the 
    public; or
        (B) the reasons such comments were rejected.

    (3) If the Director has received notice and failed to comment on an 
agency rule within 60 days after the notice of proposed rulemaking, the 
Director may not disapprove any collection of information specifically 
contained in an agency rule.
    (4) No provision in this section shall be construed to prevent the 
Director, in the Director's discretion--
        (A) from disapproving any collection of information which was 
    not specifically required by an agency rule;
        (B) from disapproving any collection of information contained in 
    an agency rule, if the agency failed to comply with the requirements 
    of paragraph (1) of this subsection;
        (C) from disapproving any collection of information contained in 
    a final agency rule, if the Director finds within 60 days after the 
    publication of the final rule that the agency's response to the 
    Director's comments filed under paragraph (2) of this subsection was 
    unreasonable; or
        (D) from disapproving any collection of information contained in 
    a final rule, if--
            (i) the Director determines that the agency has 
        substantially modified in the final rule the collection of 
        information contained in the proposed rule; and
            (ii) the agency has not given the Director the information 
        required under paragraph (1) with respect to the modified 
        collection of information, at least 60 days before the issuance 
        of the final rule.

    (5) This subsection shall apply only when an agency publishes a 
notice of proposed rulemaking and requests public comments.
    (6) The decision by the Director to approve or not act upon a 
collection of information contained in an agency rule shall not be 
subject to judicial review.
    (e)(1) Any decision by the Director under subsection (c), (d), (h), 
or (j) to disapprove a collection of information, or to instruct the 
agency to make substantive or material change to a collection of 
information, shall be publicly available and include an explanation of 
the reasons for such decision.
    (2) Any written communication between the Administrator of the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, or any employee of the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and an agency or person 
not employed by the Federal Government concerning a proposed collection 
of information shall be made available to the public.
    (3) This subsection shall not require the disclosure of--
        (A) any information which is protected at all times by 
    procedures established for information which has been specifically 
    authorized under criteria established by an Executive order or an 
    Act of Congress to be kept secret in the interest of national 
    defense or foreign policy; or
        (B) any communication relating to a collection of information 
    which is not approved under this chapter, the disclosure of which 
    could lead to retaliation or discrimination against the 
    communicator.

    (f)(1) An independent regulatory agency which is administered by 2 
or more members of a commission, board, or similar body, may by majority 
vote void--
        (A) any disapproval by the Director, in whole or in part, of a 
    proposed collection of information of that agency; or
        (B) an exercise of authority under subsection (d) of section 
    3507 concerning that agency.

    (2) The agency shall certify each vote to void such disapproval or 
exercise to the Director, and explain the reasons for such vote. The 
Director shall without further delay assign a control number to such 
collection of information, and such vote to void the disapproval or 
exercise shall be valid for a period of 3 years.
    (g) The Director may not approve a collection of information for a 
period in excess of 3 years.
    (h)(1) If an agency decides to seek extension of the Director's 
approval granted for a currently approved collection of information, the 
agency shall--
        (A) conduct the review established under section 3506(c), 
    including the seeking of comment from the public on the continued 
    need for, and burden imposed by the collection of information; and
        (B) after having made a reasonable effort to seek public 
    comment, but no later than 60 days before the expiration date of the 
    control number assigned by the Director for the currently approved 
    collection of information, submit the collection of information for 
    review and approval under this section, which shall include an 
    explanation of how the agency has used the information that it has 
    collected.

    (2) If under the provisions of this section, the Director 
disapproves a collection of information contained in an existing rule, 
or recommends or instructs the agency to make a substantive or material 
change to a collection of information contained in an existing rule, the 
Director shall--
        (A) publish an explanation thereof in the Federal Register; and
        (B) instruct the agency to undertake a rulemaking within a 
    reasonable time limited to consideration of changes to the 
    collection of information contained in the rule and thereafter to 
    submit the collection of information for approval or disapproval 
    under this chapter.

    (3) An agency may not make a substantive or material modification to 
a collection of information after such collection has been approved by 
the Director, unless the modification has been submitted to the Director 
for review and approval under this chapter.
    (i)(1) If the Director finds that a senior official of an agency 
designated under section 3506(a) is sufficiently independent of program 
responsibility to evaluate fairly whether proposed collections of 
information should be approved and has sufficient resources to carry out 
this responsibility effectively, the Director may, by rule in accordance 
with the notice and comment provisions of chapter 5 of title 5, United 
States Code, delegate to such official the authority to approve proposed 
collections of information in specific program areas, for specific 
purposes, or for all agency purposes.
    (2) A delegation by the Director under this section shall not 
preclude the Director from reviewing individual collections of 
information if the Director determines that circumstances warrant such a 
review. The Director shall retain authority to revoke such delegations, 
both in general and with regard to any specific matter. In acting for 
the Director, any official to whom approval authority has been delegated 
under this section shall comply fully with the rules and regulations 
promulgated by the Director.
    (j)(1) The agency head may request the Director to authorize a 
collection of information, if an agency head determines that--
        (A) a collection of information--
            (i) is needed prior to the expiration of time periods 
        established under this chapter; and
            (ii) is essential to the mission of the agency; and

        (B) the agency cannot reasonably comply with the provisions of 
    this chapter because--
            (i) public harm is reasonably likely to result if normal 
        clearance procedures are followed;
            (ii) an unanticipated event has occurred; or
            (iii) the use of normal clearance procedures is reasonably 
        likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of information or is 
        reasonably likely to cause a statutory or court ordered deadline 
        to be missed.

    (2) The Director shall approve or disapprove any such authorization 
request within the time requested by the agency head and, if approved, 
shall assign the collection of information a control number. Any 
collection of information conducted under this subsection may be 
conducted without compliance with the provisions of this chapter for a 
maximum of 180 days after the date on which the Director received the 
request to authorize such collection.

(Added Pub. L. 104-13, Sec. 2, May 22, 1995, 109 Stat. 176; amended Pub. 
L. 104-106, div. E, title LVI, Sec. 5605(d), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 
700.)


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 3507, added Pub. L. 96-511, Sec. 2(a), Dec. 11, 
1980, 94 Stat. 2819; amended Pub. L. 99-500, Sec. 101(m) [title VIII, 
Sec. 817], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783-308, 1783-338, and Pub. L. 99-
591, Sec. 101(m) [title VIII, Sec. 817], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341-
308, 3341-338, related to submission to Director of public information 
collection request for an approval or delegation to a senior official of 
an agency prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 104-
13.
    Another prior section 3507, Pub. L. 90-620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 
1304, provided for cooperation of agencies in making information 
available, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 96-
511. See section 3510(a) of this title.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (j)(2). Pub. L. 104-106 substituted ``180 days'' for 
``90 days''.


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 104-106 effective 180 days after Feb. 10, 1996, 
see section 5701 of Pub. L. 104-106, set out as an Effective Date note 
under section 1401 of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 3506, 3509 of this title; 
title 42 section 242k.
